development STARCROSSED \ return from moonstone

[MARBLELEAF]

The trek back is quiet. The sun has begun to rise; there's a rosy center embedded in the horizon, and pink washes over the marshland as Marbleleaf and @HAWKSTRIDE make their way back toward camp. She hadn't said much to the stoic warrior — "I was given my full name. I'm Marbleleaf now." — and he hadn't had much to report. It'd been a silent night, at least for him; for her...

When she'd risen from the Moonstone, her cheeks had been damp. Starlingheart's sweet scent still nestled in her nose. At least I know you will walk with me until the day I go to join you.

Still, she's troubled by something she can't get out of her mind. StarClan's forest had looked nothing like the one she'd walked with Siltcloud, and Starlingheart had looked... different. Ethereal. Soft. Her mother's visage is almost haunting in comparison; when she comes to stalk Marbleleaf's dreams, she is gaunt, cloaked in darkness, and her eyes are dreary and empty and full of unspent rage.

She needs to dream with her again, she decides. I need to ask her what's going on. What's different about it...?

Marbleleaf's thoughts about StarClan begin to dissipate, the closer they get to home. There are real, tangible things here for her to worry about. Ternstar and Sharpshadow and the rest of the Clan would need to know she had received her full name, her full powers; they would need that reassurance, that StarClan still walked with them, always.

She gives Hawkstride a gentle look of appreciation. "Thank you for coming with me," she murmurs. "Get some rest before you get to work today."

They part the ferns guarding the entrance to camp. Marbleleaf's eyes shine with new wisdom as she looks upon her Clanmates. "I've returned," she says, her voice high and clear. "My name is Marbleleaf, now. And I am your new medicine cat."

… ❞​

​

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

With the half-moon hanging high in the sky, Sharpshadow anxiously awaits Marblepaw's return. He's seen this before, when he was just a -paw. A young Starlingpaw had left camp as night fell, and returned Starlingheart sooner than any normal apprentice would. Marblepaw was due the same. Due for it more than she had been, maybe, if he wanted to be hopeful... It feels dangerous to expect anything anymore. The replacement of Mapletuft had taught them all that StarClan can sink claws into wherever they please... Whatever apparently-terrible future awaited them under Maplestar, he can't hope to ever know.

He makes himself useful at least, posted at the camp's entrance. In the low light, with his spine set in a hunch, is there any chance he could be mistaken for a proper deputy?

Two heads appear on the horizon, shrouded in gloom. Sharpshadow lifts his head, spine set in prickle. Some relieved murmur of their names is lost at the back of his throat somewhere. The tom trails after them both. ShadowClan's should-be Medicine Cat is gazed upon with wary, silver eyes.

Marbleleaf, is her name. StarClan is satisfied with this one, it seems... Sharpshadow releases a breath. She's honest when she tells her, " ...I'm glad, " even if her face doesn't really betray it. A name wouldn't grant them more knowledge... but at least ShadowClan could fool themselves into thinking they aren't in tatters, anymore.

SHE SAID THAT I MAKE EXPRESSIONS LIKE HIM ♱ [ MY LEGS TO MY SHOULDERS AND MY CHIN ]

• OOC: . . .

• 

  SHARPSHADOW ♱ SHADOWCLAN DEPUTY. HE - HIM - SHE - HER
  A large, scrappy feline with pessimism seemingly baked into his bones. It's clear she doesn't make much of an effort to maintain herself, though the namesake of her coat would likely stand out either way.

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! This mf is mentally ill

​

 

[sneezeduck]

Sneezeduck couldn't sleep tonight. He'd be lying if he said he even tried. How could he, when his mind is riddled with fears? That's his friend out there, in the cold, in unclaimed land where who-knows-what could be roaming. With a twinge of some emotion he can't quite name, he spends the night wishing that she'd brought him along instead of Hawkstride.

Sneezeduck sits a fox-length or two away from the camp's entrance - it wasn't his duty to guard tonight, but he couldn't miss Marblepaw's return. He wouldn't. After a while, his shoulders hunch and his head hangs low. Just as he's nodding off, scrambling for the beginnings of a dream, a familiar voice sounds clearly at the entrance of camp. His heavy eyelids open, and a smile makes its way onto his sleepy maw, uncontrollable.

Sneezeduck steps up to the entrance of camp, making room for them to move around Sharpshadow. A curt dip of his head is all he gives to Hawkstride, but his gaze towards Marbleleaf is much softer. "I'm glad you made it safe," he murmurs. There's a moment of silence that follows, and it isn't supposed to be awkward, but.. what is acceptable of him in this moment? Could he bump his head against their shoulder? Brush his tail reassuringly against theirs? What do friends do with this large sum of relief that theirs had not been stolen in their vulnerable state like so many others?

Betraying no inner turmoil, Sneezeduck simply stands and smiles. "Marbleleaf," he echoes after them, a silent cheer only quiet for the sake of sleeping cats. He imagines that, in a normal ceremony followed by cheers of their name, he'd be the loudest voice among them.

WISH AWAY THE NIGHTMAREㅤ ✩ ☾ㅤINFO.ㅤ/ㅤ12/28/2024

• ooc: text
• 
  ■■■■■■ ✶ sneezeduck. warrior of shadowclan. ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐⋆｡𖦹°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
  ☾ㅤamab cis male, he/him | undiscovered sexuality, single.
  ☾ㅤ14 moons old | ages every 2nd. created 2/5/2024
  ☾ㅤa young warrior, inexperienced in most things. | mentored by sharpshadow
  ☾ㅤLH chocolate tabby (carrying cinnamon, dilute)
  ☾ㅤunknown xx duckshimmer | brother to singeglare and swallowflutter
  ☾ㅤclose with marblepaw
  ☾ㅤwritten by ixora, ic opinions | tags‎

​

 

[lostkit]

the night had been quiet, even the more rambunctious kits quiet as the sun had dipped and the moon ascended in turn, a surprisingly solemn eve. this being her first half-moon within the clan, lostkit didn't know what exactly was going on, but she could detect the anxious undertone of the clan's more senior members easily. there were whisperings about marblepaw, about the medicine cat gathering, but with no one to really explain these things to her, the kit had soon found other distractions to concern herself with.

the morning wasn't busy, but it wasn't quiet as the previous night had been, either. by the time lostkit ventures outside the nursery, a pink-gray light has penetrated the camp, and cats had gathered by the entrance of camp around two figures.

lostkit's breath caught as she trotted over, seeing the she-cat and hawkstride accompanying her. marblepaw -- no, marbleleaf, now -- looked the same as when she had left, but her eyes rang with a depth they hadn't before. a joyous occasion, but in the early morning, the voices are low and solemn.

"congrats, marbleleaf," the kit says with a small smile. inside her, questions had bubbled, but she sensed that this wasn't the right time to ask them -- even if lost wondered fervently about starclan, and if they really had spoken to their new medicine cat, and what they might've said. "you must be tired, can i get you anything? water?" she added.

｡:ﾟ.°✧ PLEASE DONT LET THEM SEE ME

• ooc.
• 

  LOSTKIT (she/her) is a four moon old shadowclan kit with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's.
  
  TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.​

​

 

[VULTURESONG]

Vulturesong had waited out of curiosity. What name did the stars grant you? Unlike her, or any of the cats within the clan, they were all given names by their leaders. One could say that they too were given names with the blessing of stars, as leaders were given nine lines and the blessing of the stars. However, she would argue otherwise. Leaders were still of flesh and they were influenced by their own ideals. Had Ternstar been the one to name her, she highly doubts her name would be Vulturesong. Each leader had their own preference with names. Some preferred to name a cat after the skills they showed prowess in, while others named based on appearance.

Even though she may have her own opinions on each leader, she paid a great deal to the names they bestowed upon cats within the clan. Peraps, she was peculiar in that sense. However, she saw the names that were given as a window to their leader's soul. What did they see in each cat? What mattered most? What couldn't they see?

The stars allured her. How did they decide on a name? Was a collective of cats that picked one name? Or was it a single cat that decided? Starlingheart sounded too much like a warrior's name. It's clear there are some similarities between the names of leaders and the names of stars, but did they name Starling for her compassion or was it something more? She may have been a medicine cat, but the way she carried herself was more akin to a warrior. There were times I felt like prey under her gaze.

Marbleleaf. That is the name the stars have decided. It is not a bad sounding one. However her mind is filled with thoughts of how her name represents the fragile state their clan is in now. They are no more than leaves. One gust away from being lost forever. Nonetheless, she keeps her pessimism locked and decides to join in the cheer for once. "Congrats, Marbleleaf."​

 

[BURDOCKTAIL]

Marblepaw returns at sunrise, and so ends the night he'd spent staring at the walls of the warriors' den. Counting prickles in the bramble bush. Awaiting Marblepaw's arrival with bated breath alongside his clanmates. What would her new name be? Would the stars grant her their favor? Or would they remain as silent as they did on any other night? Perhaps Marblepaw wouldn't be star-blessed. Perhaps her mentor wasn't, either.

It would be a befitting fate for ShadowClan's medicine cat, to be cast aside by their deities.

The question burns in their mind when they join the crowd, eyeing Marblepaw with curiosity. But the details of the half-moon meeting are kept under wraps from them. Only her new name and title are announced; Marbleleaf, ShadowClan's new medicine cat. A smile creeps onto their maw, weary and not quite reaching their eyes. "Congratulations," says Burdocktail. They should really be offering their condolences. The clock ticks down towards Marbleleaf's inevitable fall to the curse. How long? they wonder.

Only StarClan knows, and it makes them want to throw their head back in a humorless laugh.

"Marbleleaf..." He tries her new name on his tongue, nodding. "It suits you."

make me feel alive 𑁍ࠬܓ INFO

• ooc: text
• 
  ■■■■■■■ ✶ burdocktail. warrior of shadowclan ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐⋆｡𖦹°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
  𖤓 ㅤafab nonbinary, he/they | bisexual, single
  𖤓ㅤ 37 moons old | ages every 1st
  𖤓ㅤ original marsh group member | mentoring none
  𖤓ㅤ lh tortoiseshell smoke/tortoiseshell chimera
  𖤓ㅤ npc xx npc | close with ???
  𖤓ㅤ written by nico, ic opinions | tags‎

​